


Drive of Our Discontent

by xskophi



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: AU, F/F, Friends to Lovers, They're in a rural town located in modern day Japan.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 10:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14283372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xskophi/pseuds/xskophi
Summary: Maki has grown bored of the town she grew up in, and in turn has come up with a plan to escape from it. This plan is for Kaede to steal her father's car keys in order for Maki to escape. Her plan, much to her dismay, is entirely dependent on Kaede. But, that's not all Maki wants. Maki also wants Kaede to come with her.





	Drive of Our Discontent

**Author's Note:**

> I was so pumped to write this! So pumped I wrote all this in one five hour sitting. I hope you enjoy!

Maki looked up at the ceiling. She's been looking at it on this dark night for hours now. She knows full well it is very late and that she should be fast asleep, but she just couldn't sleep. Not while something was bothering her. That something has been bothering her for a while now. And that something is this town. The scenery, the people, it's all the same. She urgently felt she needed a change of scenery, and soon. Luckily, she had an idea of how to fix this. If everything went her way, it’d be the perfect grand escape, quite literally.

 

She remained in her bed for the rest of the night, wide awake. Tomorrow, she had a job to do and a mission to accomplish. She’d been doing a lot of babysitting, earning cash so she could save up for this great escape. That was an essential part of her plan, after all. She would miss this orphanage, but the kids here could survive without her. For Maki, she felt it was direly important to get out of here. It felt like this town was slowly suffocating her—she felt like she couldn't catch a breather in this town. But why does this town make her feel that way? Sure, everything  **was** the same old same old, but shouldn't that be comforting? Why did she want to run from it? She yawned thinking about it. That was something to think about when she wasn't dead tired. Right now, she couldn't dream of figuring it out. With that knowledge, she shut her eyes and tried her best to sleep.

 

When she got up in the morning, she had barely gotten a lick of sleep. Obviously very groggy, she went downstairs and made a hot cup of royal milk tea. Hot drinks normally woke her up, so she assumed this would help her. Well, she wasn't completely wrong about her assumption. It  **did** help, but not as much as she'd hope. Today was going to be an incredibly tired, and an incredibly busy day. She decided she’d sleep during class, and get Kaede to meet up with her later tonight, around 8:30 PM at Kikuzumi Sushi. Kaede was another essential part of her plan. Simply put, she needed Kaede to steal her father's car keys and bring them to her. Maki, who turned 18 a little over a month ago, has been saving up for this getaway for a while. Seeing as she already paid the yen for a driver's license a week after she turned of driving age. She didn't expect Kaede to bring her the vehicle, seeing as Kaede was still 17 herself.

 

All Maki needed were the keys. And...Ideally, Kaede too. Kaede was annoying, but there was something about her Maki found very intriguing. She didn't think too much of Kaede at first, but after she initiated conversation with her enough times for Maki to open up a little, Maki grew interested in her. An annoying, intrusive girl was the one who has caught her attention. Truly something Maki never expected. But she wasn't complaining. Kaede’s presence felt so...Warm. Cozy. Comfortable. Many, many good feelings. But it also invoked strong feelings of anxiety and fear. Either way, she had to depend on Kaede to even dream of getting out of this town. She...Absolutely had to. There was no other way around this, unless she wanted to bike away. That wasn't exactly ideal, as a bike couldn't provide shelter like a car could. Maki hated it, but that was the truth, and nothing but the truth.

 

She waited by the kitchen for her breakfast. It wasn't anything special—a simple bowl of rice and a slice of toast. She quickly wolfed it down and went outside. The outdoors smelled strongly of fresh spring scents with a cool breeze. You wouldn't be wrong to say she enjoyed the season. You wouldn't be wrong to call it her favorite season either. Walks among the lake shores during spring felt heavenly, especially when during the morning. Without further ado, she set out on her usual route to school. It was longer than the normal route most people took, but she liked it much more. It was much more peaceful, and much more quiet. More in the background, so to say. That was Maki’s style, after all.

 

As she walked into the school grounds, she pondered if she should try and find Kaede now instead of at lunch. The two were in separate classes; Maki in class 3-B and Kaede in class 3-A. The two were both in class 2-D when they were second years. Actually, that’s when Kaede had first shown up in town; during the second term of second year. Maki had always enjoyed her seat by the window that year. Not only was it by a window, the seat next to her was empty. That is, until Kaede was assigned that seat. At first she was displeased by that fact, but she grew to accept it and even appreciate it. After all, Kaede was the only person to try and actively become her friend. No one else really talked to Maki; she was a known loner, and she didn’t exactly have an inviting aura. Actually, she was kind of known for getting in fights every now and then during junior high, and she was quite good at fighting. That’s why nowadays some people are afraid of her, and why many of those people leave her alone. Maki could make very convincing threats when she needed to, and she could live up to them if she needed to. Her cold childhood left her with a heart capable of almost anything.

 

Back into her pondering, she decided against it. She felt an odd want not to be seem so lacking in sleep by Kaede. It wasn’t even just that, she was afraid she’d say something that was underhandedly aggressive. The last thing she’d want to do now was say something like that to the person her plan depended on. Besides that, she really didn’t want Kaede to feel as if she was a threat to her wellbeing in the first place. Maki knew she could be a little  _ too _ moody when she was sleep deprived.

 

As soon as Maki walked into her class, she slid into her seat in the middle of the back row, and drifted off into sleep. It was about fifteen minutes later she was awakened by her teacher, Mrs. Nara.

“Harukawa, you’re nap time is up. It’s time to focus on your studies.” The middle aged woman had monotonously said while shaking the sleeping girl. As Maki raised her head, she shot her a dark, threatening glare. She could tell it made the teacher uneasy, but it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about it. It’s not like Maki was actually threatening her. Besides, Maki could resume sleeping soon enough. She was quick and efficient in finishing her work before it had to be turned in, and she could always borrow someone’s notes if she absolutely needed them. It wasn’t like she was going to be here that long afterward anyways. That is, if her plan went through the motions it’d need to go through in order to succeed.

 

Maki had slept through most of her class, and had woken up shortly after lunch had started.  _ ‘Crap!’ _ She thought to herself. She missed her chance at finding Kaede immediately after the bell rung. She jumped out of her seat before she decided to close her eyes and calm herself for a moment. Now isn’t the time to panic. She had the whole day to this. She could even wait a while longer if she so desired. But she didn’t want to wait any longer. Her patience was growing thinner and thinner as each day passed, and the suffocating feeling this town drowned her in was only ever getting stronger the longer she stayed here. But she knew she couldn’t rush things. Kaede would need to think deeply about this. Whether she’d steal the car keys to give to Maki, and more importantly, if she’d come with herself if she did so. Maki couldn’t help but feel a slight lingering feeling of fear that Kaede wouldn’t come with. Kaede was always so nice to her, she was one of the only people here she genuinely enjoyed being around in this town. That, and leaving all by herself was a little intimidating. It would be the first time she left town, and she didn’t want to be completely on her own.

 

Luckily for Maki, Kaede wasn’t too hard to come by. From what Maki remembered of their time in class 2-D together, Kaede had an affinity for eating on the rooftop or outside by the sakura trees. With classes 3-A through D being on the highest floor, she decided to check the rooftop first. And that’s where Maki had found Kaede. She...Wasn’t alone though. Maki gave the other girls around Kaede a glare that shot at them from across the roof. As expected, this made them uneasy, but that wasn’t her problem. That was theirs. Anyhow, she focused her attention back onto Kaede, who simply gave her an inviting smile and signaled her to come over. And Maki didn’t hesitate to.

 

“So, Maki, what brings you here? Don’t you normally stay in your classroom for lunch?” Kaede asked, curious as to why she was seeing her up here on the rooftop today. Maki looked away and gave it a moment of silence before saying anything.

“I...Just need a change of scenery.” She wasn’t completely lying. This wasn’t the scenery she needed, but she was one step closer to getting it. She turned her head back to her right side so she could look Kaede in the eyes as she spoke.

“But more importantly, I needed to talk to you. In private.” Kaede gave her a concerned look. Was she getting the wrong idea?

“Sure! Of course!” She shouted as that look of concern turned into a warm smile.

“Alright, follow me then.” Maki demanded, getting up quickly after. Kaede followed.

 

Maki simply brought her to the otherside of the roof. Sure, the other girls were still there, but they weren’t close enough where they could hear them talk. It would suffice, as long as Maki kept an eye on them. If they got curious, they could easily come over and eavesdrop.

“Kaede, I’d like to meet up with you at Kikuzumi later tonight. 8:30 sharp. All I ask is that you tell no one of us meeting up.” Before Kaede could even respond, Maki walked away leaving her bewildered and overly curious. Hopefully, Kaede would show up.

 

The final bell had rung, and thus Maki quickly shot up from her seat and swiftly went for the exit. Outside, Kaede was waiting for her.

“Hey, Maki? Is there something the matter? The way you spoke to me felt urgent….” The concerned look was plastered across her face again. Maki felt a bit happy about it; she really appreciated how Kaede felt concern for her.

“Show up and you’ll know. It’s as simple as that.” She knew she couldn’t reveal her plan here at this exact moment. She wanted this to be a private occasion for them. Something they could discuss privately in a more mature setting.

“Well, okay…. I’ll see you there then!” Kaede whispered to the girl, remembering what she said about keeping it on the quiet side. Maki couldn’t help but smirk a little at that. She found it kind of cute. However, that smirk quickly got washed off her face.

 

With that, the two said their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the time being. Maki had to get to work; her job was as simple as babysitting. Kids liked her, for whatever reason, so she’d use that to her advantage. She’d only make about  ¥ 643 an hour with this particular client, which roughly equals $6. With minimum wage being about  ¥ 848, she wasn’t missing out on too much. She’d take whatever she could get. And tonight, she’d only be babysitting for about four hours, which brings her to a total of  ¥ 1929\. Around $18. It was better than nothing.

 

The day quickly passed into night, and the kids she was looking after were behaving well. She spent most of her time playing with them before putting them to bed at around 7:30. At 8, the parents had returned home and paid Maki for her time as they said they would. Once that was over with, she quickly walked outside and bolted in the direction she needed to go in order to get to Kikuzumi Sushi. She had arrived there, a little out of breath but not too much. It’d be quite the run for others, but Maki made time for exercising on a regular basis. She liked to stay fit, and she liked building up her muscle mass bit by bit. She didn’t want to be a bodybuilder or anything, but she liked being strong enough where she could defend herself from an attacker.

 

She looked at the time. 8:23 PM. She had arrived a little earlier than she expected, but that was fine. She took a seat in the waiting section of the restaurant and waited for Kaede to show up. It was around 8:32 when she did finally show up. Kaede immediately saw Maki, and made her way over to her.

“Hey!” She greeted the smaller girl. 

“You’re late.” Maki brushed off giving her a greeting back. Kaede gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. Soon after that all escalated, she called over a waitress to seat them. After they were seated and given menus, Maki decided to finally talk again.

“So…” Maki simply said, unsure of how to start the topic. Kaede gave her a quizzical look before saying anything.

“So...Was there something urgent you needed to talk to me about?” Maki let her eyes fall onto the table before she spoke.

“Yeah.” Yet again, she wasn’t sure how to state what she wanted. Silence loomed between the two for a short while as Maki thought about how to say this.

“I’m going to be blunt. I need you to steal your dad’s car keys for me.” Kaede’s face immediately turned into a stunned and surprised expression. She was about to say something, then shook her head for a quick moment, as if to not talk loudly.

“W-why do you need that?” She looked really concerned now.

“Simple. I want to steal your dad’s car. Isn’t that obvious?” Maki shot her a serious look, letting her know she wasn’t joking.

“But why?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I need a change of scenery.”   
“I-I thought you were just referring to your lunch spot, not…” Maki quickly silenced her.

“I know. My whole entire plan depends on you doing this for me. This town, it makes me feel as if I’m being suffocated. I  **need** to get out of here, even if only for a little while.” She explained.

“I...I see.” Kaede calmed herself down some more, wanting to handle this as calmly as she could. She found herself completely dumbfounded, unsure of how to respond.

“Please consider it, Kaede. And, there’s more to it….”

“...More?” A silence loomed over the two again. Maki wasn’t really prepared to ask her to come with. Maybe this would be too big of a favor to ask. Well, she shouldn’t focus too much on that. She should simply just ask. Kaede has always invited her to come along with her when she went to fun places or just simply walking home. It was one way Maki could return the favor.

“Well, I’d like you to come with me. I have enough saved up to support two people for a short while.” Kaede’s face shifted to an unsure one once she heard the offer.

“...” She had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. Silence loomed over them again.

“Kaede. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to steal the keys if you don’t want. Take your time to think about this.” As if almost on que, their waitress came over to take their orders. The two ordered a less costly, but filling expense.

 

Their dinner was a quiet one. Kaede was obviously shaken up by the favors Maki had asked of her. Maki simply remained silent, unsure if now would be a good time to initiate conversation with the taller girl in the chair across from her. After they were finished, they split the bill and left the waiter a small tip. They both exchanged quiet and quick goodbyes, Kaede obviously lost in thought of what she should do. Maki once again expressed she should only do it if she wants to. Then they headed their separate ways.

 

As Maki walked home, it started to lightly drizzle. She stopped in her where she walked and looked up into the cloudy night sky. She enjoyed the rain as much as she enjoyed spring. It was one of the many attractions of spring, if you were to ask Maki. She knew the only thing she could do now is wait. Wait for Kaede to get back to her. And she’d wait as long as she’d need to. She knew this wasn’t an easy decision, and she was lucky that Kaede was even considering doing this for her.


End file.
